Cresent Prophecy by Axelle Chandler (great reads TXT) 📕

I was proposing was foolish, but if it helped Boone, then I would do it.

“Nay, I’m happy,” he said. “It bothers me sometimes, but I’m safe here in Derrydun, and I have you. If unlockin’ me memories means forcin’ you to face your destiny before you’re ready, then I don’t want to know.”

“You can’t tell me you never think about who your parents might be?” I murmured. “Or what your name was? Or if you left anyone behind?”

Boone stared at me, then winced as a headache tore through his temples. Raising my hands, I pressed my thumbs against his forehead and began rubbing slow circles, coaxing my magic to soothe the sting of his attempt at reconciling his memories.

“I do think about it,” he whispered as the pain eased. “I had this whole other life I’m disconnected from. But it’s gone, Skye. Who that man was, I don’t know him. He’s a stranger.”

Oh, Boone… He’d been distant because he’d believed Carman might use him to get to me. Wolves had been chasing him the first night he arrived in Derrydun just like the wolf that appeared at the hawthorn and attacked me. Thanks to Hannah, he’d thought he was to blame for it almost eating me. I also suspected he believed everything that had happened since his arrival was his fault.

They weren’t in the slightest.

“Promise me,” I said, grasping his face in my hands. “Promise me properly this time.”

“Anythin’.”

“Promise me you’ll never keep any secrets, and I’ll do the same. If something is bothering you, talk to me about it. Me, too. I don’t want to go through another breakup. I wouldn’t survive it.”

“I promise.” His hand grasped my thigh, and he squeezed. “I more than promise. It’s me vow.”

“Our greatest strength is our bond,” I said, sounding all philosophical. “If we have that, then they can’t hurt us. Screw their prophecy.”

“One day at a time.” He leaned in for a kiss.

“Sounds good to me.”

Chapter 12

The following morning, I moseyed on into Irish Moon feeling happier than I had in a while.

The witchy life was never going to be easy breezy, but at least Boone and I were in a good place. And now that I’d seen his place and dispelled the mystery over his sleeping arrangements, we could go back to staying at mine. It didn’t reek of boy at the cottage.

We parted ways in the garden that morning with a risqué kiss. Then he went off to Roy’s to work the fields, and I skipped around to Irish Moon. We were the perfect couple, finally.

I also ignored the tarot cards and didn’t bother drawing another. Nothing could burst my bubble today. Nothing. At least until twelve o’clock rolled around, and my stomach began to growl, demanding to be fed like a pouty toddler.

“I’m just going to get some lunch before the next bus rolls in,” I said to Lucy, who was pottering around the shop, straightening the stock after the last stampede. “You’ll be right for a sec?”

“Sure.”

“Can I get you anything?”

She shook her head. “I brought me own lunch today, but thanks.”

It was freezing outside, so I darted across to Mary’s Teahouse as quickly as my feet would carry me. Pushing into the neon pink cottage, I was hit square in the face with a wall of blissful heat.

“Hi, Mary,” I called out as I closed the door behind me.

The older lady shuffled out of the kitchen and smiled when she saw me beside the counter.

“Skye,” she exclaimed. “Are you back for lunch again?”

“I can’t get enough of your chicken and salad sandwiches. You know that.” Eyeing off the display of cookies on the counter, I pointed to the double chocolate chip. “Throw in one of those for dessert if you wouldn’t mind.”

She clucked her tongue and reached for the sandwich she’d already prepared, knowing I was coming in all along. Man, I loved Mary. When it came to food and divining the future of it, she was pure magic.

She slid it into a white paper bag, then added the cookie.

“You know what?” I said. “Put in an extra cookie for Lucy.”

“How is she gettin’ along?” Mary asked, slipping another treat into the paper bag with my sandwich.

“She’s great. She’s great with the customers and actually interested in working, you know?”

“That’s fantastic. Good for you.”

“She’s no Mairead, but she’s pretty close.”

Mary made a face, and I chuckled. It wasn’t any secret she didn’t understand the Goth girl and her fashion choices, but at least it was innocent. Mairead had told me stories about being bullied at school because of her black lipstick.

“Tell me, Skye,” she began, looking shifty. “What do you think of chicken and lamb for the mains?”

“What?”

“I know you kids like to have a vegetarian option, but I’m still workin’ on some recipes.”

“Options for what?”

“We need to lock in these things early. There’s a lot of plannin’ for a weddin’ of this size. We can’t just slap a few sandwiches on a plate and call it a day.” She clucked her tongue.

“Mary!” I exclaimed. “Boone and I are not getting married!”

“You say that now…” She waggled her finger at me. “But when you find a good man, you better get a ring on your finger quick smart. There are plenty of sharks out there waitin’ to take a bite, Skye.”

I let out a frustrated cry and snatched up my sandwich. Storming across the teahouse, I shoved the door open with a violent jab.

“Remember the sharks, dear!” Mary called out after me. “And let me know what Boone thinks about the menu!”

What was with this village and their obsession with marrying me off to Boone? I loved him, but we’d only been together like two months or however long it had been. I hadn’t exactly marked it on my calendar. I wasn’t into shotgun weddings. Besides, there was nothing to shotgun. My uterus had never been occupied, past or present, thank you very much!

Stomping across the street, I opened the door to Irish Moon and